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Missionaries in Europe, parts of Africa, and the Middle East are spending their dollars faster than ever. As the dollar declines relative to foreign currencies, many overseas missionaries are finding their buck doesn't go so far as it used to. Many have had to cut back on spending or even return to the U.S. to fundraise. Mission agencies are also finding they need to spend more money to maintain their overseas operations.

"The decline in the dollar is affecting our international development programs, in some cases quite dramatically," says David van Vuuren, vice president of international operations at World Relief.

Over the last two years, the dollar has significantly fallen against the euro. Worth more than 0.91 euros in February 2003, it has fallen to 0.76 euros in February 2005. The end of 2004 was particularly difficult, says Wendy Norvelle, spokeswoman for the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. From August 2004 to January 2005, the dollar fell roughly 0.10 euros, from 0.82 to 0.72 euros against the dollar. Many economists say prolonged government budget deficits and consumer trade deficits have pushed the dollar down.

The dollar's value has decreased almost 30 percent over the last year. Douglas LeRoy, assistant director of Church of God World Missions says that of the denomination's $30 million annually spent on overseas missions more of it is going to Europe in order to maintain missionaries' buying power. The most difficult country for missions to be in is Russia, says LeRoy. The rest of Europe and other countries in the Middle East and Africa, where some economies are tied to European currencies, have also been difficult.

Both the Church of God and IMB adjust missionary salaries so that all their missionaries have the same amount of relative buying power no matter what country they are in. The IMB had to overspend its "field parity supplement" by $1.6 million in 2003, and may have overspent it by $2 million in 2004. "When you have people in the field you have to maintain them, no matter if the dollar loses value, or if the dollar gains value. You have to pay the rent, pay the basic necessities," Norvelle says. IMB's total overseas missionary spending is more than $197 million, according to the Mission Handbook.

Missionaries are "finding out that to have [what used to be] $60,000 buying power is costing them $80,000," LeRoy says. Missionaries have to make difficult choices when they find they don't have enough money to stay in a country. "We try to get them to be in contact with their donor churches to see if they can increase the amount of money that they're giving. In some cases, if it cannot be done by telephone or email or letter writing, they have to return home." Sometimes, one member of the family will return to raise money, while the rest stay in the field.

Though the most significant decline affects Europe, the dollar has fallen against other currencies as well, says World Relief's van Vuuren. "In Mozambique—a country that has its economy linked almost directly to the South African rand currency—operations funded by our US dollars are caught in a pincer of the declining buying power internationally of the U.S. dollar and the appreciating South African rand."

"The S.A. rand is currently trading around SA R6.00 to US $1.00, whereas 24 months ago it was more like SA R13.00 to US $1.00, a decline in buying power of the dollar of more than 50 percent," van Vuuren says. "The most dramatic effect is felt by our staff living in economies where the cost of living has soared but their salaries are holding steady."

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March (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49